Long Beach Pedestrian Fatally Struck in Hit-and-Run April 25 2016

In was is being assumed a suicide, a male pedestrian was stuck by a vehicle early on April 25, 2016 in Long Beach. Witnesses report the young male had been attempting to be hit by vehicles by jumping into the road repeatedly and eventually laying in the road. The Long Beach Police Department was dispatched around 1 a.m. to the 3600 block of East Seventh Street once the vehicle had fled the scene. The struck man was pronounced dead on the scene. He was later identified as William Mendoza from Buena Park, age 27. Witnesses suspect a white Chrysler 300, possibly a 2006-1010 as the offending vehicle. Seventh Street was closed temporary while police completed a search and investigation. The LA Times reported in 2015, that there are about 20,000 hit-and-runs in Los Angeles a year. Only about 160 of these involve pedestrians while most involve property damage. The city is taking positive steps to decrease this number.

Anyone who has information can call the Collision Investigation Detail Detective Steve Fox at 562-570-7355. For anonymous tips, call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or visit LAcrimestoppers.org.